how large does a parcel of land have to be for legal shooting

[Tejas Wildlife]

In addition to the size of your property, isn't there also some kind of stipulation regarding shooting across your property line?

If you shoot across your property line, your projectile (and you by association) have committed Criminal Trespass. Same as stepping across a property line carrying a firearm.

 

[MR Redneck]

If you shoot across your property line, your projectile (and you by association) have committed Criminal Trespass. Same as stepping across a property line carrying a firearm.

That kinda the way I understood it. To clarify the trespassing part, if you even step foot on another Texans property with or without guns or actions, the minimum is simply trespassing. Your actions determine the trespassing to be criminal. In Texas you dont even have to have a no trespassing sign. Fences and gates are recognized as " To keep your stuff in" not to " Keep others out".
Now im not too sure about the shooting laws because I aint never had an issue with them. I have a 5 acre shop yard at my Diesel shop and sometimes I shoot gun there. I never ever shoot in the air and 99% of the time I shoot into a dry pond. I also shoot a Decoy Launcher a lot. Its to train my labs. I did make all my neighbors aware of the Decoy Launcher so they wouldnt worry. That the least I could do. Couple of the neighborhood kids come by when im doing that and help, they think its " awsome".
Like I said, I never had any issues and the local Sheriff even pulled in here one time just to make sure I wasnt killing somebody. Other than training dogs or property defence, I would suggest going to the range. The fact that I dont want my neighbors shooting all around me is the main reason I limit myself to shooting Decoy launcher or at criminals.

 

[Bithabus]

Check your local laws for restrictions.

In Texas you need 10 acres to override a county restriction and 50 acres to override a municipal restriction (and the State law in 150k+ municipalities).

 

[Wolfwood]

GREETINGS! ~

You are hereby invited!​

HOOORAY!

email me a map and a list of good times and what happened to saturday?

 

[Wolfwood]

Check your local laws for restrictions.

In Texas you need 10 acres to override a county restriction and 50 acres to override a municipal restriction (and the State law in 150k+ municipalities).

good to know.

 

[West Texas]

HOOORAY!

email me a map and a list of good times and what happened to saturday?

Better offer

 

[Eli]

That kinda the way I understood it. To clarify the trespassing part, if you even step foot on another Texans property with or without guns or actions, the minimum is simply trespassing. Your actions determine the trespassing to be criminal. In Texas you dont even have to have a no trespassing sign. Fences and gates are recognized as " To keep your stuff in" not to " Keep others out".

I'm not going to bother finding the statute, but that is ALL wrong. Your property must either be fenced or posted *OR* you have to tell them to leave.

Eli

 

[MR Redneck]

I'm not going to bother finding the statute, but that is ALL wrong. Your property must either be fenced or posted *OR* you have to tell them to leave.

Eli

Well you better look that statute up then, because thats how it is. Im speeking from experiance on this one. Somebody's got you all confused.
I'll also give you something else to ponder on. Do you know the history and law behind a purple cattle gaurd in Texas??
I aint going to bother posting the stature if your already convinced Im wrong, but you might want to look it up for yourself.

 

[Eli]

Well you better look that statute up then, because thats how it is. Im speeking from experiance on this one. Somebody's got you all confused.
I'll also give you something else to ponder on. Do you know the history and law behind a purple cattle gaurd in Texas??
I aint going to bother posting the stature if your already convinced Im wrong, but you might want to look it up for yourself.

PENAL CODE  CHAPTER 30. BURGLARY AND CRIMINAL TRESPASS
Read it. I don't know who told you the other stuff, but it isn't at all true.

Eli

 

[Renegade]

Check your local laws for restrictions.

In Texas you need 10 acres to override a county restriction and 50 acres to override a municipal restriction (and the State law in 150k+ municipalities).

It is a little more complicated than that, thanks to TSRA which worked with gun-banners in 2009 to pass a more stricter law:

Sec. 229.002. REGULATION OF DISCHARGE OF WEAPON. A municipality may not apply a regulation relating to the discharge of firearms or other weapons in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality or in an area annexed by the municipality after September 1, 1981, if the firearm or other weapon is:
(1) a shotgun, air rifle or pistol, BB gun, or bow and arrow discharged:
(A) on a tract of land of 10 acres or more and more than 150 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and
(B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract; or
(2) a center fire or rim fire rifle or pistol of any caliber discharged:
(A) on a tract of land of 50 acres or more and more than 300 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and
(B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 18, Sec. 4, eff. May 3, 2005.


Sec. 229.003. REGULATION OF DISCHARGE OF WEAPON BY CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES. (a) This section applies only to a municipality located wholly or partly in a county:
(1) with a population of 450,000 or more;
(2) in which all or part of a municipality with a population of one million or more is located; and
(3) that is located adjacent to a county with a population of two million or more.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 229.002, a municipality may not apply a regulation relating to the discharge of firearms or other weapons in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality or in an area annexed by the municipality after September 1, 1981, if the firearm or other weapon is:
(1) a shotgun, air rifle or pistol, BB gun, or bow and arrow discharged:
(A) on a tract of land of 10 acres or more and:
(i) more than 1,000 feet from:
(a) the property line of a public tract of land, generally accessible by the public, that is routinely used for organized sporting or recreational activities or that has permanent recreational facilities or equipment; and
(b) the property line of a school, hospital, or commercial day-care facility;
(ii) more than 600 feet from:
(a) the property line of a residential subdivision; and
(b) the property line of a multifamily residential complex; and
(iii) more than 150 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and
(B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract;
(2) a center fire or rim fire rifle or pistol of any caliber discharged:
(A) on a tract of land of 50 acres or more and:
(i) more than 1,000 feet from:
(a) the property line of a public tract of land, generally accessible by the public, that is routinely used for organized sporting or recreational activities or that has permanent recreational facilities or equipment; and
(b) the property line of a school, hospital, or commercial day-care facility;
(ii) more than 600 feet from:
(a) the property line of a residential subdivision; and
(b) the property line of a multifamily residential complex; and
(iii) more than 300 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and
(B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract; or
(3) discharged at a sport shooting range, as defined by Section 250.001, in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of a tract of land.

Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1230, Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 2009.

 

[Bithabus]

It is a little more complicated than that, thanks to TSRA which worked with gun-banners in 2009 to pass a more stricter law:

Thanks.

 

[SDC]

The 10 acres in a subdivision is right I believe , but there is a bigger issue here that nobody has addressed. I live on nearly 50 acres, but there are houses in all directions. I have had neighbors that had a "legal" acreage to shoot on , but it was not safe for them to do so. I have had to talk to several of them about it, and yes I had to have a deputy talk to one of them also. I guess I'm that whiny neighbor, but when bullets are flying over my house and children outside, then I guess I will be whining. We preach all the time about our rights, and no one stands up for them any more than I, but idiots that move to the country on any sized property and just start shooting without regard for surrounding homes,etc. are not friends of mine when it comes to helping keep our right to keep and bear arms. I have shot and hunted almost my whole life on very small properties that I new very well the surroundings, all the way up to 40,000 acre private ranches. The one thing I have had to learn is that times have changed , and we do not have as much room to mingle anymore, so be SURE like your own family members life depended on it each time you discharge a firearm, that it is safe to do so , not just a legal sized acreage. The almost 50 acres that I live on?? No it is not safe to fire a rifle on, so all we do here is archery and birdhunting. Sorry about the soap box, but thats how it is.

 

[Texas1911]

Burnet Co. Sheriff told me that it was OK to shoot on land, regardless of acreage, and that hunting was the only thing mitigated by acreage. So I suppose it can vary by attitude, and place.

I attended a Hays Co. meeting with Sheriff Allen Bridges, Judge Liz Sumptner, and some county council members regarding a training regimen in lieu of acreage restrictions, so there is some county powers at hand, not just municipalities.

 

[Bithabus]

I attended a Hays Co. meeting with Sheriff Allen Bridges, Judge Liz Sumptner, and some county council members regarding a training regimen in lieu of acreage restrictions, so there is some county powers at hand, not just municipalities.

Did anything happen with that?

 

[Texas1911]

Did anything happen with that?

They started some bogus "Shoot Safe" program. I haven't heard anything about it in a while. Oh well, it's better to waste money than take away our rights. Even if there are some retarded bubba-types in Hays, it's no grounds to strip the rights away from everyone because one or two people do something stupid. I find that laws have little in the way of stopping bullets.

 

[Bithabus]

They started some bogus "Shoot Safe" program. I haven't heard anything about it in a while. Oh well, it's better to waste money than take away our rights. Even if there are some retarded bubba-types in Hays, it's no grounds to strip the rights away from everyone because one or two people do something stupid. I find that laws have little in the way of stopping bullets.

Absolutely. Sometimes I shoot with friends out in Driftwood on 4 acres or so. Would really suck if a County level acreage restriction got passed.

 

[West Texas]

It is a little more complicated than that, thanks to TSRA which worked with gun-banners in 2009 to pass a more stricter law:

Sec. 229.002. REGULATION OF DISCHARGE OF WEAPON. A municipality may not apply a regulation relating to the discharge of firearms or other weapons in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality or in an area annexed by the municipality after September 1, 1981, if the firearm or other weapon is:
(1) a shotgun, air rifle or pistol, BB gun, or bow and arrow discharged:
(A) on a tract of land of 10 acres or more and more than 150 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and
(B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract; or
(2) a center fire or rim fire rifle or pistol of any caliber discharged:
(A) on a tract of land of 50 acres or more and more than 300 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and
(B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 18, Sec. 4, eff. May 3, 2005.


Sec. 229.003. REGULATION OF DISCHARGE OF WEAPON BY CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES. (a) This section applies only to a municipality located wholly or partly in a county:
(1) with a population of 450,000 or more;
(2) in which all or part of a municipality with a population of one million or more is located; and
(3) that is located adjacent to a county with a population of two million or more.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 229.002, a municipality may not apply a regulation relating to the discharge of firearms or other weapons in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality or in an area annexed by the municipality after September 1, 1981, if the firearm or other weapon is:
(1) a shotgun, air rifle or pistol, BB gun, or bow and arrow discharged:
(A) on a tract of land of 10 acres or more and:
(i) more than 1,000 feet from:
(a) the property line of a public tract of land, generally accessible by the public, that is routinely used for organized sporting or recreational activities or that has permanent recreational facilities or equipment; and
(b) the property line of a school, hospital, or commercial day-care facility;
(ii) more than 600 feet from:
(a) the property line of a residential subdivision; and
(b) the property line of a multifamily residential complex; and
(iii) more than 150 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and
(B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract;
(2) a center fire or rim fire rifle or pistol of any caliber discharged:
(A) on a tract of land of 50 acres or more and:
(i) more than 1,000 feet from:
(a) the property line of a public tract of land, generally accessible by the public, that is routinely used for organized sporting or recreational activities or that has permanent recreational facilities or equipment; and
(b) the property line of a school, hospital, or commercial day-care facility;
(ii) more than 600 feet from:
(a) the property line of a residential subdivision; and
(b) the property line of a multifamily residential complex; and
(iii) more than 300 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and
(B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract; or
(3) discharged at a sport shooting range, as defined by Section 250.001, in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of a tract of land.

Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1230, Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 2009.

If you are hunting/shooting in a Rural area of Texas on un-incorporated land not under the control of a municipality (incorporated city/town/area), there is no restriction.

If you are living in Weatherford in a "Ranchette" Community, or in one of the areas of the Woodlands or that area on a lot of more than 7 acres...then good luck...

 

[Renegade]

If you are hunting/shooting in a Rural area of Texas on un-incorporated land not under the control of a municipality (incorporated city/town/area), there is no restriction.

Wrong, as usual.

Collin County for example, enacted restrictions on rural, unincorporated land several years ago.

Section 235.022 gives them this power.

Some Subdivisions, even in rural, unincorporated areas, are restrictable.

Research before you buy. Would suck to buy 10 acres and then find out you cannot shoot on it.

 

[West Texas]

Wrong, as usual.

Collin County for example, enacted restrictions on unincorporated land several years ago.

Section 235.022 gives them this power.

Collin County has a population of 762,000, so what is it exactly that I said that was wrong?

Once again, when you graduate law school and pass the bar, talk to us about the law. Until then, all you are doing is causing more confusion by taking the most rigid stance you can on every issue you have brought up, and are doing so with the sole purpose of causing confusion.

Since this is part of what I do for a living...Real Estate...and have two lawyers on staff and two on retainer (one of which is Drew Darby, a State Representitive), I'll take thier word over yours. In the more populated areas of the state there have been restrictions put on land because it is getting more densley populated every day, but in the more rural areas, that's not the case.

 

[Renegade]

Yet another thread where mr real estate agent denies certain laws exist, even though they easily verified.